chapter 14
The realization landed so hard it stole my breath.
Ethan had spent ten years punishing me for Rose’s death.
But what if the woman he worshipped had been trying to get away from him before she ever boarded that plane?
The first major crack came a week later.
My father’s quiet audit found exactly what I feared: irregular transfers, hidden exposure, and one ugly trail leading back to intermediaries connected to Shaw Capital. Not enough for court. More than enough for war.
My father didn’t yell. He went cold.
I had inherited many things from him. The ability to smile while planning where to place the knife was one of them.
At the same time, Gideon’s investigator found something stranger.
Rose had booked not one flight in the previous timeline, but two.
The official ticket the Song family knew about had been to Zurich.
The second, purchased under a variation of her name through a private broker, had been for Vancouver six hours later.
A getaway route.
An escape.
She had never planned to arrive where anyone thought she was going.
Which meant one thing.
The crash had not killed the version of Rose Birkin the city mourned.
It had erased her.